Python receiving tumor destroys part of her jaw. Steve Rawlins/Chester Zoo | CNN World
A UK zoo on Friday hailed curing a cancer-stricken python named after Hollywood star Jodie Foster, who became the first snake to receive an innovative treatment combining surgery and electrochemotherapy (ECT).
Chester Zoo, in northwest England, said the 4.5 metre (15-foot) reticulated python had fully recovered after first undergoing surgery and then receiving ECT following the return of a cancerous tumour in her jawbone.
Animals are increasingly being treated for cancers with drugs and therapies once only used on humans.
Other creatures — including a turtle and lizard — have had ECT treatment previously, according to case reports posted on medical science databases.
